Majorana states in nanowires: towards topological quantum computers

What is it about?

In high-energy physics, a Majorana fermion, theoretically predicted by Ettore Majorana in 1937, is an elementary particle having the surprising property of being its own antiparticle. A condensed matter analogous of Majorana fermions can be realized as an emergent electronic state in the so-called topological superconductors. Due to their topological nature, these Majorana modes are relatively robust against impurities and disorder. Moreover, they exhibit an unusual and distinctive property: when their positions are exchanged, the final outcome does depend on the order in which exchanges are performed. Loosely speaking, exchanging Majorana modes is the quantum analogous of braiding threads: The knots they form depend on the order in which the exchanges are performed. These “quantum braids” may lead to the development of a topological quantum computer. My review is an introduction to this rapidly evolving field of research at the boundary between condensed matter physics and quantum computation. The review is published open-access. Download it for free here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0102999

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Photo by Mikaela Wiedenhoff on Unsplash

Photo by Mikaela Wiedenhoff on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Due to their topological nature, their robustness against disorder, and their unusual exchange properties, Majorana states may lead to the design of viable technological platforms for topological quantum computation, which will constitute a breakthrough in quantum information science and simultaneously contribute to fundamental advances in understanding quantum physics.

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